Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1887-01-07
Seed Contradiction of the Fittest.

W. T. Brown, of Butler county, Ohio,
writes to the Cultivator and Country GEN
tleman:
am not intending to write about saw
ing and thoroughly curing seed corn in
the fall, although we have ample proof
every few years of the vital i'm Importance
of it, and also that many, perhaps a ma
jority, of farmers fail to do it. What |
wish to call especial attention to you the
points which L consider of greatest i'm
partance in a variety, and the certainty
with which any point may be established
by careful selection. Several things have
called my attention to this subject at this
time.
During the Geld weather about Thanks
giving time, we pulled fifty bushels of
corn and brought it. to tho barn, and in
husking it L told my work hand if he
found any nice seed ears to pass them
| over to me. He handed over number,
every one of which l rejected, and as he
seemed to think me hard to please, L was
at considerable pains to show him why
his selection did not suit me. He seemed
to be locking for big ears only, while l
looked for small cob, deep kernel, and an
ear well developed at butt point; which
does not taper, but carries its size
throughout. Then in order to convince
him, | shelled several ears and weighed
cob and shelled corn separately, and
showed him that seventy pounds of ears
of my selection would shell from sixty to
sixty one pounds of corn; and as the
corn tested was direct from the field, and
had not been cured at all, this was a re-
markedly good seowing. The ears Sc
lected by nay work hand having large
cob, had not been cured out so well,
and gave four to five pounds more OF cob
to the bushel than that which [ had Sc
lected.
l have just weighed and measured
quantity of my selected seed, and find an
average length of ear of eight and
half inches, and an an average weight of
twelve ounces. l could easily have Sc
lected corn that would average ten inches
in length of ear, and perhaps fourteen
ounces in weight, but l prefer this type,
as it Is early to mature and will yield a
large crow. The usual distance of plant
ing hill corn with US is three feet nine
inches, and this gives Sill hills to the
acre, and, with three stalks to the hill,
1888 stalks. If we can grow a twelve
Dance ear to each stalk-which is quite
within the bounds of possibility-it will
give US 1000 pounds of ear corn, or 100
bashels to the acre, at seventy pounds to
the bushel, and then if we gain six
pounds to the bushel by reducing the cob
to ten pounds, it brings US up to 10
bushels of shelled corn to the acre.
Nearly every farmer when he looks at
my shelled corn remarks that the ears
are small; but weighing and comparing
cob and shelled corn with the larger cob
bed varieties, rarely fails to convince him
that the ears are large enough to produce
very heavy yield. The corn grown from
this selected seed is quite uniform in size
and quality, and l think is improving
every year. l do not usually get more
than from twenty-five to forty ears for
seed from a load of forty bushels, and
quite per cent of these / shall reject at
second inspection after the corn is
cured.
Three years ago a member of our
farmers club brought a magnificent look
ing ear of corn to the club and made me
a present of it. do not remember the
weight of the cob, but, after being kept
in a warm room all winter, it shelled over
a pound of corn. l planted it on excel
lent land, where it could not mix with
other corn, and gave it careful cul-
tivation, expecting TO get ten bushels of
extra fine seed corn; but when 1 came to
husk it, it was the worst lot of corn had
grown for ten years, and did not save a
rain of it.
l took a load of my corn to the mill
yesterday, and the miller told me that he
found difference of seven pounds to
the bushel in the yield of shelled corn.
and strongly commended the small cob
varieties. The farmer who grows the
small cob corn ';ili rarely be troubled to
10 - -, Il
the germ is rarely killed by excessive
cold, as is that grown on large cob,
which holds moisture for a long time.
There have been seasons when but little |
corn could be found which would grow
in my locality, but / could take corn !
from my crib, without selecting. that |
would grow vigorously. There is a large !
class of farmers who are always ready to |
send of for new variety of corn which |
is advertised as superior, and they are |
usually disappointed with the result. 1 /
have been selecting and breeding differ |
ent varieties of corn for many years, |
and have found that patience and per-
severance will enable one to fix almost |
any type or quality he may desire
My advice to farmers is not to buy /
seed corn unless their variety is very in |
ferior, but to select the very best of their /
own. and breed for standard. If you 4
follow it up patiently for Eve years or
more, you will have the satisfaction of /
gaining the result you seek. Ny exper-
fence leads me to believe seat BY careful /
attention to the selection of seed, 20 per
cent can be added to the yield of the corn /
crop, and the cost is merely nominal. / /
have neighbors Who think that smoking /
their seed corn vitalixes it. so that il /
state. with greater vigor, and my e1per-
fence in smoking seed is favorable. I l
vieh many of your readers would test it
in the coming spring. FIX up q rack in
the smoke house and lay up . dozen ears /
or more; smoke them n you smoke ysur